Mapit Designer turns complexity into simplicity

The Mapit Designer 3.0 application transforms complex business information into simple decision trees to enable online troubleshooting, product selection, compliance and surveys.

Christchurch, New Zealand, 30 June – Mapit Designer 3.0, a software tool that allows users to easily build decision trees and process maps which can be outputted as HTML script, was released today. Mapit Designer is for users who need to guide their customers through complex interactions to reach a result, such as troubleshooting, legislation, compliance, product selection and surveys. Mapit Designer can be used to produce self help online tools or call center scripts to help with customer interaction and decision making.

Mapit Designer, developed by Hindin Solutions, is already being used in a range of settings including call centers, product websites, content management systems, and company intranets all over the world.
“Our customers tell us it’s very easy to use, not over done, does what it’s meant to do and that it’s at a good price point. We can even count Intel among our customers; they’re using it for online product help. Mapit is really fulfilling business requirements for our customers which is very satisfying,” says Paul Sapsford, Director, Hindin Solutions.

Mapit Designer features a simple drag-and-drop script and screen builder interface. The user interface allows users to configure their information to map customer interactions. The user breaks decision-based knowledge down into a series of simpler, more individually manageable problems, graphically displayed in a flow diagram called a decision tree or process map. The resulting HTML scripts can be easily inserted into web pages, intranets or contact management systems that can then be immediately used.

Mapit Designer is an effective tool for customer services representatives and agents who assist help desk customers with complex decision making. The goal for any call center is to provide the right answer, first time. High staff turnover and 24 hour operations mean that call centers face major challenges in ensuring that information is readily accessible, changeable and current. Mapit Designer reduces the complexity of the information displaying it in a logical format which can be easily followed either by the customer support representatives or online by the customers themselves.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) uses Mapit Designer as a questionnaire/decision-tree while attending customer phone calls on driver licensing, motor vehicle registration and road tolling. To date NZTA has developed over 60 different scripts that can be referred to from a directory of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to deliver sophisticated information through 200 customer service representatives to 5,000 to 7,000 callers per day.

In the past staff had large folders of paper-based information that needed constant updating. Large-sized flow charts and “if/then” decision trees were provided to each desk and were difficult to find when on a call. Updating the information when legislation or conditions changed was a major logistical challenge. Now all information and knowledge is stored in a knowledge base and agents are trained to use scripts developed in Mapit Designer to answer questions.

Scott Andrew the Knowledge Base Administrator for the Transport Registry Centre credits Mapit with great improvements within the call center, “Compliance is high, very high and training issues have been simplified since we’ve been using Mapit.”

Mapit is also being used as a product selector to help customers choose the right product for their needs from a website. US Builder Supply, a Texas based supplier of building products throughout the USA, sells thousands of products for door attachments, bathrooms and security and safety from their website http://www.usbuildersupply.com/

US Builder Supply wanted a simple tool to take their clients down a decision path to enable them to choose the right product for their needs online from the literally hundreds of pages of product information. Owner Ken Swanson says, “Every business and every industry has their own processes. It might be product configuration, help desk information, anything. I wanted a simple solution to help present information in an orderly manner. Mapit has allowed us to create an online customer driven decision making process that results in an educated customer and strong sales.”

Mapit Designer doesn’t require the user to have any specialist computer knowledge or require any other programmes. Subject matter experts can easily encode their understanding of complex knowledge and process flows. The user starts by creating a frequently asked question and mapping out all the possible paths that follow from that question and linking the appropriate answers to questions based on their decision logic. The questions are designed to help your customer work their way through the process until they reach their correct answer.

Mapit allows the user to capture data by text entry, check boxes and radio buttons. Mapit can be used for Yes/No type answers ("Do you earn more than $40,000 per year?), or more complex Multiple Choice questions ("More than $40,000 + two children under 10 years old) that lead to different answers based on the combination chosen. Graphics can also be included to make the script even more powerful. When the customer is using the tool results are communicated interactively and they are directed to supporting web-based content such as an order form, more detailed information or survey results.

Mapit can also be used as a troubleshooting tool for technical or product problems online or for online surveys and polls.

A free trial of Mapit Designer 3.0 can be downloaded from http://www.mapitdesigner.com/